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September 15th, 2008

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10:19 am - Where do fruit flies come from?
And don't tell me it's when a mommy fruit fly and a daddy fruit fly love each other very much.

Seriously. I had a peach at breakfast. If I hadn't set the compost bowl with the pit and peel outside, an hour later there would be fruit flies all over the kitchen. As it is, no fruit flies. The doors are closed. The windows are closed.

Where would those same flies be if I hadn't eaten that peach?

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Comments:

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From:[info]katybeth
Date:September 15th, 2008 05:34 pm (UTC)
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Spontaneous generation.
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From:[info]scarlettina
Date:September 15th, 2008 06:38 pm (UTC)
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What she said.
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From:[info]farmgirl1146
Date:September 15th, 2008 05:34 pm (UTC)
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I have always assumed that the eggs were on the fruit and they hatched. I am looking forward to the answers to this question.
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From:[info]allanh
Date:September 15th, 2008 05:41 pm (UTC)
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Is it not possible that the fruit flies smelled the peach leavings and were attracted to it?
From:[info]calimac
Date:September 15th, 2008 05:54 pm (UTC)
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Of course. But that's the question: since the doors and windows are closed, where did they come from?
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From:[info]allanh
Date:September 15th, 2008 07:07 pm (UTC)
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Perhaps I misread the post, but it's my impression that she set the pit and peels outside [of the kitchen]. Would there not already be fruit flies outside?
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From:[info]kateyule
Date:September 15th, 2008 10:27 pm (UTC)
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Let me rephrase.

I set the peels outside. If I had not done so, there would be fruit flies in the kitchen. What is the source of those (hypothetical) fruit flies?
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From:[info]stevegreen
Date:September 15th, 2008 06:17 pm (UTC)
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I recall one summer's day when Ann was sitting in the back garden. Suddenly, as though a starting pistol had been fired, thousands of tiny flying insects began to emerge from the grass and surrounding areas. Almost as swiftly, the sky was filled with birds, swooping down as the swarm took off. The whole affair lasted for less than five minutes, then the flies were gone and the birds with them.
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From:[info]ladyjestocost
Date:September 15th, 2008 07:21 pm (UTC)

Fruit Flies

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Do you dare to eat a peach?
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From:[info]deedop
Date:September 15th, 2008 07:52 pm (UTC)
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Near as I can tell, they're born pregnant...

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From:[info]katybeth
Date:September 16th, 2008 12:18 am (UTC)
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:)
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From:[info]foomf
Date:September 30th, 2008 06:48 am (UTC)
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There are always one or two Drosophilae eggs on any bit of fruit, which escape the washing (if any). These are so tiny that you're not going to notice them but they WILL hatch under favorable conditions, and there will then be one or two fruit flies in your home, loitering, laying eggs that may stay dormant for a while until the ethelyne gas of ripening fruit triggers them to hatch.

Or, they might make their way into your home by stealth, being Tiny Little Things.

In any case, you can go from 2-3 flies to 20000-30000 flies in less than four generations, and a generation is about 25 hours for some flies.

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